CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia's capital has become the first part of the country to legalize recreational marijuana for personal use.

The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly voted on Wednesday to legalize possession by adults of up to 50 grams (1.8 ounces) of dried marijuana and cultivation of two marijuana plants beginning Jan. 31.

The assembly is the local government of Canberra, the national capital with a population of 400,000.

The law requires that adults not use marijuana near children and to store it out of their reach. Owners cannot sell or supply their marijuana to anyone else. Households are limited to growing no more than four plants, regardless of the number of occupants.

Attorney General Gordon Ramsay said it was time to treat drug addiction as a health issue rather than an issue of "right and wrong."

The opposition voted against the legislation, arguing that the change would encourage more people to use marijuana and lead to more drug-induced psychosis.

Possession of small amounts of marijuana has been decriminalized throughout Australia, but the Australian Capital Territory is the first of Australia's eight states and territories to take the next step of legalizing possession and cultivation.

But marijuana users in Canberra will still face some legal uncertainty because possession of small amounts of marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said such prosecutions would require approval of federal prosecutors, who are "concerned with larger matters than the possession of a small amount of drug."

Federal prosecutors have declined to provide the government with advice on the likelihood of such prosecutions.

Barr said police charging Canberra marijuana smokers under federal law "would be outrageous," but the smokers could cite the territory law in their defense before a judge.

Australian Federal Police Chief Police Officer Ray Johnson said Canberra police had been advised to "focus on the traffickers," but that officers were free to enforce federal law.

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For most fans of music, reggae and marijuana are inexplicably linked. That is, when people think reggae, they also think about laid-back, dredlocked musicians who puffed a mariijuana pipe in-between laying down rhythms. Even reggae music’s most legendary figure, Bob Marley, is known as much for his pro-weed sensibilities as he was for his socially conscious lyricism and rousing beats. But the all-important question remains: How did reggae and ganja become so interlinked?

A popular modern reggae artist named Lutan Fyah suggests that reggae was a way for the poor people of Jamaica to express their views and way of life, which is how weed became involved with the musical movement. He says: “The originators, the ones who pioneered reggae music, those were the ones that used the herb to gain enlightenment and inspiration.”

These oftentimes disenfranchised artists used the herb to help convey their message. Fyan continues, “If you check where this music is coming from and the time when it started out, you realise that it really came from the poor. They saw reggae music as a chance to say what they wanted to say and share their views and that’s how weed came up in reggae.”

Of course, reggae’s roots are firmly entrenched in the Rastafarian movement, which requires its adherents to not only consume, but also distribute, cannabis as a sacrament and herbal medicine.

Hempress Sativa, another popular reggae artist, uses marijuana to help meditate before creating her music. In essence, ganja enables her to properly pay homage to Rastafari, as well as help her music achieve the right groove and vibe.

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Marijuana Compound Removes Alzheimer’s-Related Protein From Nerve Cells

With the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease expected to almost triple in the United States by 2050, there is an urgent need to identify effective treatments for the condition. Now, a new study suggests marijuana may hold the key to such a treatment.

Published in the journal Aging and Mechanisms of Disease, the study reveals how a compound present in marijuana triggered the removal of beta-amyloid protein from nerve cells, or neurons.

Beta-amyloid is considered a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease; the protein clumps together in the brain of people with the condition, forming plaques.
Studies have suggested these beta-amyloid plaques disrupt communication between neurons in the brain, which leads to symptoms associated with Alzheimer's, such as impaired memory.

Preventing beta-amyloid accumulation in the brain might seem like an obvious way to tackle Alzheimer's, but because researchers are still unclear of the exact role the protein plays in the disease process, achieving such a feat is easier said than done.
Marijuana compound prevented nerve cell deathTo test their theory, the researchers applied THC to nerve cells with high beta-amyloid production.

They found that the marijuana compound reduced beta-amyloid levels and eradicated the inflammatory response to the protein, which prevented nerve cell death.

While clinical trials are needed to confirm the role THC might play in protecting nerve cells against beta-amyloid, the researchers believe their findings shed more light on the role beta-amyloid plays in Alzheimer's disease, which could pave the way for new treatments.

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